Friday, March 13, 1998
Arizona heat will demand best Bruins have to offer
M. TENNIS: Team fires up to face Wildcats and Sun Devils on
their own turf
By Stephanie Chan
Daily Bruin Contributor
The heat. The altitude. Yes, the Arizona climate at its best.
This weekend, the No. 10 UCLA men’s tennis team will exchange
picture-perfect Southern California weather for the extreme
temperatures of Arizona to play Arizona and Arizona State.
"It’s going to be boiling … I expect a very tough game there,"
said Vince Allegre.
It will not only be boiling in temperature, but in
intensity.
"It is tough to play down there because (of) the altitude, and
those guys really fire up," said Matt Breen.
Both of the Arizona schools will be looking to even out their
win-loss record with the Bruins. When the Wildcats and Sun Devils
played at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, they were both defeated,
6-1.
The point that Arizona State stole from the Bruins was the
doubles point. Consistency is one area the Bruin doubles teams have
been struggling with all year.
However, in the previous meetings, the Bruins dominated the
singles matches. Jean-Noel Grinda, Allegre, Breen, Alex Decret and
Brandon Kramer all emerged with two wins. Chris Sands split,
defeating Arizona State’s Casey Was and losing to Arizona’s Pascal
Salasca.
The Bruin lineup has been through reconstruction since playing
the Arizona schools. Noah Newman has been inserted into the lineup
for the injured Kramer. Injured Jason Cook will not be ready for
this road trip.
"Without Jason Cook and Brandon Kramer, we’re not as strong as
we could possibly be," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. "We have
to be hungry, scraping, energetic."
The Bruins will definitely have to be all of the above in facing
when they face the Wildcats and Sun Devils at their respective
homes. Neither team has given up a match at home.
"I think it’s going to be two dog fights," said Decret.
The leaders of the pack for UCLA will be No. 9 Grinda, No. 17
Allegre, and No. 40 Breen. Senior Roland Kupka and sophomore
Jean-Noel Lacoste will lead the Wildcat pack, and No. 66 Gustavo
Maracaccio and sophomore Alex Osterrieth will hold the Sun Devil
pitchfork.